Confirmation

It's come to this. The Republicans are so eager to score points against Barack Obama that they're willing to eat one of their own, Chuck Hagel, because he had the audacity to allow himself to be tapped on the shoulder by the Pretender's sword. In what passes for governing these days, everything from a debt ceiling argument over money that Congress has already spent, to a self-imposed fiscal catastrophe, to a Cabinet-level appointment is now nothing more than an opportunity to do some transitory political damage.

A man died after he was stabbed during a dispute in Delray Beach on Saturday, according to police. The person who died was identified as Marcus Morton, said Delray Beach Police Department spokeswoman Sgt. Nicole Guerriero in an email. Neither his age nor address was provided. The incident happened Sept. 20 at 2 a.m. in the 1600 block of Northeast Third Avenue. No arrests had been made as of Tuesday, and the case was still under investigation, Guerriero said. brettclarkson@sun-sentinel.com , 561-243-6609, or Twitter @Brett Clarkson_

WASHINGTON -- Former Florida Gov. Bob Martinez is expected to sail through a Senate confirmation hearing next week on his nomination by President Bush to become the nation`s next "drug czar." An FBI background report provided the Senate Judiciary Committee uncovered no evidence that would jeopardize Martinez`s appointment, Senate sources said on Monday. The committee has scheduled the hearing for next Tuesday. Martinez was nominated on Nov. 30 to succeed William Bennett, who cited personal reasons in stepping down.

NEW YORK - The Marlins before Wednesday's series final confirmed what just about everyone assumed as soon Mike Fiers pitch last week hit Giancarlo Stanton in the face: His 2014 season is over. Stanton, who suffered multiple facial fractures and lacerations, and dental damage, was hopeful of playing again before the regular season finale Sept. 28 in Washington. President of Baseball Operations Michael Hill and manager Mike Redmond, both of whom spoke with Stanton Wednesday, said Stanton would need more healing time before getting back in the box. "He obviously was hopeful he could come back and help this club down the stretch," Hill said.

To J.P. Andrew of Weston, confirmation "is the time in a young man's or young woman's life when they become a full-fledged member of the church with all the rights and responsibilities of an adult member of the congregation." J.P., a freshman at Western High School in Davie, completed confirmation classes Tuesday night at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Weston. He says the classes require sacrifice and since he plays sports at his school, he had to leave practice early "because the religious commitment is more important than sports to me. There is homework, but it is very light.

Congress does many things poorly, but something it does very well is stall and obstruct confirmation of presidential nominees for the federal judiciary. Over the years, both Democrats and Republicans excelled at throwing sand into the gears. Only 28 new judges have been confirmed since President Bush took office last Jan. 20, out of 64 nominees. "The Senate is moving slower than ever before," says Tom Jipping of the Free Congress Foundation. "The partisanship has got out of hand," says Sheldon Goldman, a political scientist at the University of Massachusetts.

Carol Moseley-Braun may make a good U.S. ambassador to New Zealand, or she may be a terrible choice for the job. Yet the American public won't know unless Moseley-Braun, a former U.S. senator, goes through the scrutiny of Senate confirmation hearings. This is where Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., comes in. The powerful chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee has raised legitimate questions about Moseley-Braun's nomination, because of lingering ethical questions about her. Moseley-Braun, the first black woman elected to the U.S. Senate, lost re-election largely due to allegations that she misspent campaign funds on trips and gifts, and that she got too friendly with a Nigerian dictator.

Confirmation, an important life-cycle event for Jewish teens, will coincide with the observance of Shavuot at Temple Kol Ami on Sunday. The combination of celebrations is by design, said Rabbi Sheldon Harr, spiritual leader of the Plantation congregation. Shavuot is a holiday commemorating "the gift of the Ten Commandments," Harr said. "And without the gift of the Ten Commandments, most likely there would be no Judaism today. Confirmation and Shavuot ideologically go hand-in-hand." Twenty-six teens at Kol Ami will be confirmed at the celebration, during which they will conduct the service.

The United States' combative U.N. delegate John Bolton launched a second campaign to win full congressional approval Thursday, insisting that he had done his best "to work with others to advance our national interests" during his year at the world body. "I do believe important advances have been made," he said during a 3 1/2-hour hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Bolton failed to win Senate confirmation for the U.N. job last year after one of the most heated and divisive debates over a presidential nomination in recent memory.

President Clinton, working his way through the largest Cabinet change-over since World War II, on Friday urged the Republican-controlled Senate to confirm his second-term choices "as quickly as possible." Clinton issued the appeal at a White House news conference, where he announced his nominees for four more posts in his 14-member Cabinet. Illinois lawyer William Daley, son of the famed Chicago Mayor Richard W. Daley of the 1960s and 1970s and brother of the city's current mayor, Richard M. Daley, was chosen as Clinton's new commerce secretary.

Earlier this week, Miami coach Al Golden said the Hurricanes planned to take four quarterbacks to Louisville for the Hurricanes' opener. He mentioned true freshman Brad Kaaya , who earned the starting nod, Kansas transfer Jake Heaps, true freshman Malik Rosier , and Ryan Williams , who'd been Miami's projected starter until tearing his ACL during spring practice. One quarterback not making the trip? Kevin Olsen , who had reportedly been suspended for at least one game and spent most of the week sporting a scout team jersey.

Three days after the balloting, Broward County 's supervisor of elections confirmed a winner for the Margate City Commission on Friday: Joyce Williams Bryan, by 16 votes. After Tuesday's special city election, Bryan was ahead of opponent Brian Donahue by less than two dozen votes. The slim margin triggered an automatic recount by the elections office. Friday morning, an elections staff of 21 spent about two hours running the city's 3,300 ballots through tallying machines all over again, said elections office spokeswoman Mary Cooney.

SAN FRANCISCO - Not long after manager Mike Redmond confirmed his ace as anticipated would undergo Tommy John surgery in Los Angeles Friday, Jose Fernandez delivered a message of his own. Via his Instagram account (josedfez16) and Twitter (@josefernandez77), Fernandez wrote: "To all my fans: you deserve to know that today, along with my family, I made the decision to undergo Tommy John surgery. It was not an easy one, but with my condition it is the only option where I can return to the game I love as the same player I am temporarily leaving the game as. I'll be back as soon as my elbow will let me. And if anything...

WASHINGTON -- Fast-rising South Florida federal Judge Robin Rosenbaum was confirmed on Monday to join the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta. She is expected to be based in Miami. The U.S. Senate voted 91 to 0 to confirm her nomination by President Barack Obama to fill a seat vacated by former Florida Supreme Court Justice Rosemary Barkett. Rosenbaum, 47, is a former federal prosecutor and magistrate in Fort Lauderdale who got her law degree from the University of Miami.

Stephen Morris gave himself four days. Four days to rest, four days to relax, four days to shift gears. His final season as Miami's quarterback was over, his final college game had been a disappointment and his career at Miami was over. With that came a need for reflection and recovery. Four days later, it was time to get to work. Now the next chapter is here. The NFL Draft begins Thursday and while Morris doesn't know when his name will be called, he knows a new challenge is ahead.

Alonzo Mourning insists he won't cry when he is enshrined into to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Aug. 8. Of course, the former shot-blocking center made the same vow when his No. 33 jersey was retired by the Miami Heat in March 2009. "I've actually got a couple of bets with a couple of my boys that I won't cry," Mourning said Monday in Dallas, after he was formally announced as a member of the Hall's Class of 2014. "This time, I'm going to win the bet, 'cause I cried at my jersey retirement, and I didn't expect that to happen.

John G. Roberts had strong bipartisan support, winning confirmation in the Senate as the nation's 17th chief justice of the Supreme Court by a 78-22 vote. And why shouldn't senators on both sides of the aisle have supported him? Roberts brought with him impressive intellectual and legal credentials. He handled himself in Senate hearings with confidence and authority. A strong conservative, he comes across as a man who would respect both the Constitution and court precedents. Because of the high quality of the nomination, the country was spared a bruising partisan confirmation battle that it could ill afford.

WASHINGTON -- Dr. Louis W. Sullivan on Wednesday easily won confirmation as secretary of Health and Human Services, with the Senate voting 98-1 to place the 55-year-old physician and educator in charge of the government`s largest agency. The Senate then voted 99-0 to confirm James D. Watkins, a retired admiral, as secretary of energy. Only Jesse Helms, R-N.C., voted against confirmation of Sullivan. The vote marked the end of a battle for Sullivan, a newcomer to political life and the only black member of President Bush`s Cabinet.

It's official. Jordana Jarjura and Al Jacquet will be Delray Beach commissioners for the next three years. Before a large crowd, many wearing Al Jacquet T-shirts, commissioners reviewed the unofficial results from the supervisor of elections and adopted the findings Thursday. Delray's rules say commissioners must review the election results no later than three days after the election. But interim City Attorney Terrill Pyburn said anyone interested in challenging the final votes when they come in still can. The decision to accept the votes didn't come without some questions.

Former Miami Dolphins All-Pro wide receiver Mark Duper is the ninth living former NFL player to be diagnosed with signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, a degenerative brain disease many scientists say is caused by head trauma and linked to depression and dementia. Duper told the ESPN program "Outside the Lines" he learned of his diagnosis Friday from researchers involved with the testing. "It was shocking," Duper told the program about his reaction to hearing that he had signs of CTE. "I hoped nothing was wrong.